DMaximus

Funny, I was going to write an article on why Pistil Stamen should win (38 total points last year, 81 at this moment. Stamen will likely end with almost 300% more points than he had last season ). I planned on using some fuzzy math to make it look closer than it really is between Stamen and Odinsson (because Odinsson will also likely end up with close to 3x more points than last season and obviously a higher point total). 

But my main point was going to be that Odinsson is going to win every other award so might as well give one to someone else. I still believe this.

Really love some of the ideas coming from everyone. Some really great suggestions including the enhanced player page, live sims, more stats, and highlighting players/members on a periodic basis.

Here's mine:

1) Change Update Scale - I've written about this before, but the fact that many people can get 99 in multiple attribute categories is ridiculous. Make the scale drastically different. My suggestion is to make each point above 70 cost 1 TPE more. So going from 70 to 71 costs 1 TPE, going from 71 to 72 costs 2 TPE, 74 to 75 costs 5 TPE. 79 to 80 costs 10 TPE. 94 to 95 costs 25 TPE. This would not only prevent people from having a ton of 90+ attributes, but it would also alleviate the problem of top earners steam-rolling everyone else, because at the top end it would cost 100+ TPE just to be 4 or 5 attribute points higher. This would keep overall attributes closer together, while allowing high earners to still be somewhat better than others. Players would need to make more difficult decisions on how they build their player because they can't have it all like they currently have. Also maybe start everyone with all attributes at 50. 

2) Reward new players with tons of TPE - I think we should be encouraging new players to hop on the forums and contribute by giving anyone in the VHLM Triple TPE for all tasks (or maybe just point tasks). To prevent TPE inflation the tripling stops at 200 TPE (which should also be when they are automatically moved into the VHLE). TPE is the best motivator we have for new people, so let's reward them for their contribution! And maybe double TPE for VHLE members under 300 TPE. Maybe give people more TPE to spend when creating a player (50 instead of 30)

3) More "Official" Articles (VSN?) - A previous idea that I suggested for increased content was to require GMs to create weekly content for their team. That got stomped down pretty hard by most people. A new suggestion is to have more VSN writers who get paid more (maybe something above the weekly cap, like 14 TPE a week, to really incentivize it) and have these new writers be like beat writers for a team(s). Where they write an article about a specific team(s). Or you could make an article like that be available for anyone to write for uncapped TPE. Have it follow a specific format of game summaries, top players from the team, something like that. 

1.     How do you bounce back from a rough patch?

It’s really all about mental focus. I remind myself that I have the talent to succeed, I just need to keep my focus on playing as best as I can. If you quiet your mind, you will bounce back.

2.     At the half way point for the season, do you have any awards predictions that have changed?

Basically all of them?  None of my picks are leading in any of the statistical categories. Seems like it might be a lean year for prediction TPE.

3.     As we keep battling in the NA thunderdome, how will we stand out from the other teams?

Our top D pair is the best in the league. That will always make us stand out for other teams.

4.     If you were running a youth hockey camp, what skills would the kids learn from you?

I’d teach them how to skate better. Every young player can be helped by becoming a better skater.

5.     What is your pre-game routine?

Nothing too special, put on my gear, chat with anyone who is willing to talk, stay relaxed. I start to get focused a couple of minutes before warm-ups. Then stay in game mode until it’s over.

6.     What is your post-game routine?

Nothing too special, take off my gear, chat with anyone who is willing to talk, stay relaxed. Hopefully the post-game routine includes celebrating with my teammates.

1.     We sit on top of the NA thunderdome, how do we stay there?

The gut reaction is to say something like, we’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing. Dance with the one that brought you, that type of thing. But I think we need to look for opportunities to improve ourselves. Shake things up, change it around. Make sure we can handle any situation.

2.     Who is our biggest competition?

Probably Seattle. They have a score to settle with us too, after we knocked the out of the playoffs a couple seasons ago.

3.     What makes us different from the Stars of past seasons?

I think we all have a share singular focus, winning. Feels like we were only looking out for ourselves before. But now we are all one, ready to win it all.

4.     Which VHL mascot would win in a battle royale?

A really tough one here. Like is the mascot of Davos a mountain or something? It’s tough to beat a mountain. I mean like what could you even do to defeat a mountain? Dig up the whole thing? But then where do you place that dirt? If you just pile it up somewhere else, you’re just making a new mountain. If the Stars are the literal translation of the word and an actual star, that could destroy a mountain and every other mascot at the same time, easy. But I think Stars is not literal, I think it means popular people, so they’re out. My final answer is a Dragon.

5.     Which player would win in a battle royale?

I think ‘ol Pistil has a very good shot. I grew up in a remote area in the Brazilian rainforest, so I can handle all the skills required to win a battle royale.

6.     What's the funniest thing you've heard on the ice?

I don’t listen to much of the chirping that goes on. Most of that goes in one ear and out the other. But I do remember someone saying “Your mom goes to college.” Which caught me off guard and caused me to laugh.

4th and final claim

1.     What are your goals for this season?

Certainly, to improve on my performance from the previous season. My primary goal is to get over a PPG this season.

2.     Do you have any expectations for our performance this season?

My bare-minimum expectation is that we make the playoffs. I’m hoping we’re able to win at least one series in the playoffs.

3.     Where do you think we will struggle?

If the past is any indicator, scoring goals. I also think we’ve struggled with consistency. We need to be able to put together a sting of good games, rather than fluctuating between a good game and a bad game.

4.     What do you think is our biggest strength?

I think our biggest strength is our top line. We have the best top D pair in the league. Our goalie is one of the top netminders in the league, which is a huge strength, especially come playoff time.

5.     Recommend me your favorite movie!

It’s tough to go wrong with the Matrix.

6.     What's your favorite song right now?

The answer to this probably changes for me on a minute-to-minute basis. I’ll give in to recency bias and say “hold yourself.” By Tune-Yards is currently my favorite. But realistically there’s no way that’s my favorite song of all-time. Which means is it really my favorite song right now? And did you not write these last two questions because of the spelling of the word favorite?

I picked you as rookie of the year in my predictions. Keep it up!

Completely agree, I've advocated for the VHLM to hand out experience points as well.

Week 3 claim

@Advantage @McKelvie @dasboot @solas  Thanks for a great draft! Please double check your teams and make sure I got everything right.  Good luck to you all!

@Domg5 our work here is done. Thanks for your help. Let me know if you need anything else from me.

I'll take:

G - Jean Pierre Camus

@Domg5 The disqualified team 4 needs their final pick, a defenseman.

@McKelvieyou're on the clock for your final pick.

Sorry was out all day. Thanks for the patience.

F - Cabe McJake

G - Thadius Sales

@BOOM

@NSG88your time has expired. Due to 2 time expirations, you are disqualified.

@Domg5see above

@dasbootyou are now on the clock.

@NSG88 1 hour left to make your 2 picks. If you do not pick during this time, you will be disqualified.

1)    How is your summer? Did you get any time off?

The summer always goes by so fast. I didn’t really take much time off. I have so many things to work on to improve my hockey game that I don’t have the luxury of taking time off right now.

2)    Do you enjoy spending time with family on vacation or by yourself?

Family and community is everything. I don’t think I would have too much fun on vacation if I didn’t have the people closest to me to share it with.

3)    What is your go-to special meal?

I always love Moqueca, a fish stew type dish from my native Brazil.

4)    If you could be in the body of an animal for a day, what would you choose?

Who would turn down the chance at being a bird and flying high above the earth for a day? I would definitely choose a bird for a day. If it were any longer than that I would probably choose something else because flying must be really tiring!

5)    What was your favorite part of this season?

For me, the opening two games were great, I came out with a hattrick and was really contributing. That felt really good. I did also enjoy playing for the world team in the world cup.

6)    What was your least favorite part?

Probably the rest of the season. My performance was extremely disappointing. And our team missed the playoffs. All of that was not enjoyable.

F - Cabe McJake

@NSG88You're on the clock for the next pick. You can also make your makeup pick for the previous round.

I'll take

F - Red Lite

D - Jolly Greene Giant

back to you @BOOM

@NSG88your time has expired. You are skipped. You can make your selection at any time. If you are skipped again, you will be disqualified.

I'm on the clock. I will select:

D - Battre Sandstrom

@McKelvieyou're on the clock.

My selections for the disqualified TheTiptonKing

F - Taro Tsujimoto

D - Jeffrey Pines

Please ping me next time TheTiptonKing is on the clock.

@NSG88you're on the clock. 2 hour warning until your time expires.

Copying our rosters to the 2nd page to make life easier on everyone.

1. Team Advantage

F - Christian Mingle

F - Luke Thornton

F - Duncan Idaho

D - Cowboy Prout

D - Tyler Walker

G - Rara Rasputin

2. Team McKelvie

F - Aloe Dear

F - Dakota Lamb

F - Lee Xin

D - Kosmo Kramerev

D - Kasper Kankkunen

G - Zamboni Driver

3. Team DMaximus  

F - Isabella Campbell

F - Addison McLaren

F - Cabe McJake

D - Robin Galante Nilsson

D - Battre Sandstrom

G - Jean Pierre Camus

4. Disqualified (fka Team NSG88)

F - Henry Tucker

F - Red Lite

F - Justin Lose

D - Matty Socks

D - Hard Markinson

G - Markus Emerson Jr

5. Team dasboot

F - Groovy Dood

F - Taro Tsujimoto

F - Timothy Brown

D - Alex Letang

D - L

G - Kevin Malone

6. Team solas

F - Valtteri Vaakanainen

F - SS Hornet

F - Muffbeav

D - Chris Hylands

D - Jeffrey Pines

G - Doug Dimmadome

@McKelvieyou skipped me!

It's cool though the guy I wanted is still on the board.

I'll take F - Addison McLaren

@solas You're still on the clock for the next 2 picks

@NSG88 your time has expired. You can make a replacement pick at any time.

I'm on the clock now.

I'll take F - Isabella Campbell

@McKelvieyou are now on the clock.

@NSG88you are still on the clock for your repick since Onde Sandstrom is retired. You have 2 hours left before you will be skipped.

@NSG88Onde Sandstrom is retired. Please pick another player.